The Words that Bind Us
by ScribeOfRhapsody
Summary: There was a reason Ignis had started wearing gloves. Having very visible words was one thing. Having very visible words that caused people to break into snickers and giggles mid-conversation was another. (Soulmate AU) (Additional pairings: Noctis/Luna, Prompto/Cindy, Gladio/his unnamed girl from the end of the game.)


**Who else loves Noct's laugh in the** _ **Case of the Stolen Specs**_ **quest? I wanna hear it more. Poor boy.**

 **Anyway, I started this fic like two months ago and never finished it. You guys have One Winged Shinigami to thank for it finally being published.**

* * *

Everyone spent _some_ time wondering about their soulmate. It was only natural. However, it wasn't until the night before they left Insomnia, when Prompto started pestering Gladio about his words, that Ignis realized he and his friends had never actually discussed theirs with each other as a group.

Everyone knew Noctis' soulmate was Lady Lunafreya. The words that connected them, though, were another matter.

Having known each other from such a young age, Ignis couldn't remember a time he and Noct hadn't know about each other's words, but they never talked about it. Not since the Marilith had split Noctis' words in two and left a scar that distorted half of them. He'd never outright said it, but Ignis could tell it was a sore topic for the Prince. The attack may have led to him meeting Lady Lunafreya in the first place, but he hated that the words that symbolized their bond had been broken.

Prompto brandished the words proudly that evening – a messy, ' _Hey there, y'all kept a girl waitin'!'_ around his arm just above the wrist band he always wore.

It was only when Gladio told Prompto to mind his own business that Ignis realized he had no idea what Gladio's words were. And, given the frown that pulled at Noct's brow, he didn't know either.

"Why don't you pester Iggy?" was Gladio's tactic to get Prompto off his back.

Ignis sent him a glare at that. There was a reason he'd started wearing gloves. Having very visible words was one thing. Having very visible words that caused people to break into snickers and giggles mid-conversation was another.

Thankfully, Noct managed to change the topic after that. Ignis' humiliation was postponed for the time being.

* * *

"Hey there, y'all kept a girl waitin'!"

As those words registered in Ignis' mind, Prompto choked on air from his sprawled position on the ground by the Regalia.

The mechanic took no notice at first, only sparing Prompto a passing glance as she looked at each of them. "Now, which one's the prince?" Noctis popped up from his side of the car, and her full attention went to him. "Hello, Your Highness. Congrats on your wedding!"

"Uh…" Noctis' gaze flickered between her and Prompto. "Think the congrats go to you…"

Ignis missed Prompto's stuttering first words to his soulmate due to Gladio's groan. "You realize they're never going to let us live it down that they met their soulmates before us, right?"

Ignis sighed. "Indeed…"

* * *

"Hey, pretty boy. Let's see what you can do!"

The first words Ignis heard Aranea Highwind speak were not the ones scrawled across the back of his right hand, and – as he slid in behind Noct to face their new foe – his soulmate was the absolute last thing on his mind. First and foremost was keeping himself and the others from being impaled by the dragoon as she went toe-to-toe with all four of them at once.

He wasn't above admitting he admired her elegant, dance-like style of airborne fighting. That's all it was, though: a healthy admiration and respect for a dangerous opponent. A dangerous opponent who had nearly skewered them all at different points during their encounter.

"Who the hell was she?" Noct wondered after she'd all but let them go.

Ignis found himself wondering the same.

* * *

Their second meeting with the Commodore was under much different circumstances than they were expecting. Straight from fighting for their lives to having her fill Gladio's absence.

She spoke to Noctis mainly, seemingly far less of a threat with her helmet off and lance absent. She recovered both once they were ready to enter, but her joking jabs at Prompto and overall dry sense of humor kept her with a civil aura as they waited for the sun to sink.

Ignis felt far more at ease around her than Ardyn, at any rate.

"Hold down the fort," she casually instructed the two guards standing just outside the ruins.

"You got it, Lady A!" one of them tossed back cheerfully.

Ignis didn't claim to be an expert on the inner workings of mercenary operations, but he knew that was a rather casual address to a commanding officer.

"Guys, look!" Prompto excitedly pointed to the ruins, which had begun to glow.

"Some kind of light," Noct mused as they headed inward.

"The entrance?" Ignis pushed his spectacles up.

"What else could it be?" Prompto was practically bouncing as they made their way to the door that hadn't been there before. "Didn't I tell you? Knew there was something not quite right. Gotta follow your gut sometimes. Let's do it!"

Noct let a hiss of air pass his lips as he took the lead down the stairs inside. "Aren't we eager?"

The staircase continued for quite a ways, and, eventually, Prompto of course felt the need to get a conversation going. "Those guys your friends or something?"

As far as topics went, Ignis could commend that one as a good choice. He was curios as well. "You appeared to be on good terms."

Aranea spun around so suddenly that Prompto ran into her. He babbled out an apology, but she wasn't paying attention to him.

Ignis could just make out her narrowed eyes scrutinizing him through the slits in her helmet.

Noct paused ahead of them. "Somethin' wrong?"

Aranea was silent for another moment, and then barked out a laugh. "Tall, nerdy, _and_ pretty? Hell no, nothing's wrong – I hit the jackpot."

What.

Words – his treasured, precious allies – failed Ignis, and he stared dumbly at his _soulmate_. _Her?_ A _Commodore_ of the _Empire?_

A loud, full belly laugh the likes of which Ignis hadn't heard in years exploded from Noctis' mouth, and Ignis felt his face flush.

Prompto frowned. "What's the funny thing? Why am I missing a funny thing?"

Ah, yes. He'd managed to keep his words a secret from Prompto until now. No wonder he was confused. Any moment now, though, it would dawn.

Aranea spared a moment to roll her eyes. "Think about it, short-cake."

 _Three…_

 _Two…_

 _One–_

" _Oooohhhhh, holy crap!_ " Prompto bounded over to Ignis, grabbing his arm and shaking it vigorously. "Congrats, dude!"

Ignis shook him off, pushing his glasses up with an indignant huff.

"So, you got a name, handsome?" Aranea shifted her weight to one side, hand going to her hip.

"Ignis." He finally managed to get his voice under control. "Ignis Scientia."

"Also affectionately known as Iggy, Specs, or Mum."

Ignis cast a withering glance at Noctis.

The chances of his getting out of this dungeon with any dignity left were dwindling rather rapidly.

* * *

Although it didn't entirely ease his concerns, it was good to hear that Aranea was no fan of the Chancellor and, more importantly, was considering leaving the Empire.

Also, he'd learned that she enjoyed teasing with great fervor – something that was amusing Noct and Prompto _far_ too much.

"Hey, Four-eyes, you want to turn this thing around or what?"

And, apparently, she'd picked up on him being the group's tactician.

He could hear Prompto's snickering from the other side of the room before he took a shot at a nearby daemon.

Ignis sighed. There was no end. "Would that I were able…"

Aranea scoffed, completely taking off a daemon's head with a swipe of her lance. "Who in the hell actually talks like that?"

" _Your_ soulmate, so clearly you care for it more than you let on," Ignis shot back.

"Ooooh, snap! He's got you there, Ary!" Prompto fired off another few shots.

" _Ary?_ " Aranea deadpanned.

"Yu _p!_ " Prompto said gleefully. "The soulmate of a chocobro is automatic family, and family gets nicknames!"

"Choco _bro?_ " Noctis repeated incredulously, warping away from the Blizzaga he'd tossed behind his back at a flan.

Prompto yelped as the icy blast hit close to him. " _Duuuude!_ A little warning?"

"Sorry!"

"Let's regain focus," Ignis suggested. Preferably before one of them was killed while they were too busy bantering.

He flicked a couple daggers at the beast closest to him, about to call on his lance when Aranea cut between them. "Mind if I finish this one off?"

"No, but I'm loath to make a lady bloody her own hands." The words slipped out easily before he'd truly considered them. Wherever had that come from?

Prompto wolf-whistled. "Smooooth, dude! Nice!"

"What was that about _regaining focus?_ " Noctis called.

 _Dear Astrals, make it stop…_

* * *

By the end of their time in the dungeon together, Ignis was already feeling far more comfortable in Aranea's presence. The torment from the childr– _his comrades_ had anything but died down, but he'd tuned them out for the most part, devoting his attention to familiarizing himself with Aranea's fighting style – if they _were_ to be seeing more of each other, that could only be a benefit.

The fresh breeze, however damp and cold it was, was a welcome change to that of the stagnant, daemon-reeking air they'd been partaking of for the last few hours, so not even Prompto voiced a complaint about the rain.

"Made it out in one piece," Noct commented.

"Congrats. That concludes your 'training.'" Aranea faced the three of them. "You've still got a hard path ahead, but don't let anyone tell you how to walk it."

Ignis crossed his arms, shifting his weight. "You may have been hired under false pretenses, but your assistance was invaluable all the same."

A retina-frying flash of light momentarily blinded him.

"O… M… G, you guys are sooooo sweet!" Prompto gushed, studying the photo on his camera.

Aranea squinted, blinking a few times. "You regularly deal with this?"

Ignis sighed. "Not usually quite to this extreme, but yes." His phone gave a buzz from his pocket. "Pardon me for a moment…"

* * *

The first chance Ignis got to have some time to himself was when he returned to the Regalia. While it was in the sky.

Just when he thought his day couldn't take any more unexpected turns, the Chancellor had ordered Aranea to give them a lift to Lestallum. So, there he sat – in the driver's seat of the silent Regalia as the _Empire_ ship's hull rumbled around him.

The cargo hold was dark but comfortable, and the familiar feel and smell of the leather seats granted as much peace of mind as he was going to get given the circumstance.

Unfortunately, given the footsteps approaching him, he doubted that peace would last long.

" _Evenin'!_ " a strangely accented voice grunted right in his ear, and Ignis flinched away at the loudness of.

Aranea's dark-coated underling – Biggs or Wedge, but he didn't know which was which – stood by the Regalia, regarding Ignis with a daemon-like grin.

"Good evening…" Ignis returned cautiously.

"So!" The second underling in the white coat popped up on the other side of the Regalia, leaning over the door on that side. "Lady A's found her soulmate finally, has she?"

Dear Astrals… First his own people, and now this? "So it would appear." Why did he feel as though he'd just entered an interrogation chamber?

Dark-coat wrinkled his nose. "He seems a bit uptight to me."

"Yeah, bit skinny too," White-coat added.

"Bit pretty-boy."

"Well, Lady A does like the pretty ones."

"Sharp dress sense, though."

" _Boys._ "

Ignis wasn't sure whether to be relieved or further terrified that Aranea had interrupted, but either way, there she was, hands on her hips and an amused smirk on her lips. "If you're done interrogating my soulmate, I'd like a word with him."

"Sure."

"You got it, Lady A."

With that, the two men were gone, seeming to vanish. Perhaps that was just due to Ignis' focus on Aranea as she sauntered over to the car and slid into the seat next to him. "Nice ride. So… what time of year do you want to have the wedding?"

" _Pardon?_ "

"You heard me."

Surely she was joking? His tongue felt heavy and useless. Words. _Where_ were his beloved words? "Isn't it a fair bit early to be discussing _that?_ "

Aranea shrugged. "You tell me. Your magic crystal is the one dishing these things out." She gestured to her leg, where he assumed her words were. "Way I see it, we can't have any deal-breakers, or we wouldn't be soulmates, so why wait? We know things will work out, right?"

Ignis mulled over the texts he could recall reading about soulmarks. She had a point. "I'd never thought about it in that regard before, but I do suppose you're right. Though I suspect your current employers might object."

Aranea snorted. "Izunia and Aldercapt can kiss my ass if they have any objections."

Ignis chuckled. "I generally prefer autumn."

"Same."

Well, that put the metaphorical ball in his court, as he saw it. Perhaps he could start with something simple? "…Favourite color?"

She shot him a look that said 'really?' but then grinned. "Red."

"I'd never have guessed."

"Well, you asked."

"I've never been one for ambiguity. Just wanted to make sure."

Suddenly, the awkwardness of the day was ebbing away. Ignis felt relaxed. Peaceful.

He had so much to learn about this woman, and he'd never backed down from studies before.

* * *

"Anything happen while I was gone?"

Ignis grimaced in advance. Prompto had been waiting for this. Any moment now–

"Ignis met his soulmate!"

" _What?_ " Gladio roared. "I thought you guys went to get a rock!"

Ignis sighed. "Ore, Gladio. Mythril is–"

"How the hell did you end up meeting a girl when you went to find a _rock?_ " Gladio was scowling, clearly flustered.

"Well, technically you already met her, so you didn't completely miss out, if that makes you feel better," Noct noted.

" _Aranea,_ " Prompto said with a dreamy sigh and a snicker at Ignis.

"You're kidding…" Gladio deadpanned. "Damn, Iggy… I sure pegged your type wrong. Although… your words make a hell of a lot more sense now."

From the grin Gladio was giving him, Ignis could now confirm that his friends were never going to stop tormenting him until the end of time. Or until he went mad. One of the two.

Well, at least the general future was appearing brighter.

* * *

There was no light.

Ignis' days of darkness in Altissia passed in snippets of consciousness. Even after the bandages around his eyes had been removed, he saw nothing.

But his sense of touch was stronger than ever. Fine-tuned, almost. Without his sight, the fingers threaded through his own when he awoke were all the more obvious. Ignis blinked his right eye, though it did nothing. Smell. That seemed more key, too, and he knew that scent.

"Aranea?"

"Hey, Specs."

His soulmate's voice should have granted him some sort of relief, but all he could feel were the pangs of guilt and nausea. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

He swallowed the lump in his throat. "You deserved better than to be shackled to a damaged soulmate. I'll understand if you wish to–"

She made some noise that sounded like a cross between anger and disbelief. "I care more about your attitude than your injury, you dumbass. Have a little faith in that crystal of yours. I'm sure as hell not shackled, but I'm also not going anywhere, got that? I'm gonna be right here."

And she was.

She was there with him when they left Altissia.

She was there with him in Cartanica.

She was there with Prompto at Ignis' request when their gunner was thrown from the train.

She was there with them in Gralea.

There with them during the ten years of Noct's absence.

There with when Gladio finally confessed to having met his own soulmate.

There with them as they fought the Infirnian himself.

There with them at the steps outside the Citadel.

There holding his hand and painting a picture of the rising sun for him with her words as they sat, exhausted, on those same steps.

He was a man who had lost much… but he had also gained enough to keep him going. Enough to give him hope for the future.

* * *

… **Well. It got a little sappy, but there you have it. I hope you all enjoyed!**


End file.
